Two-sided Impacts of Identity Disclosure in e-Customer Service Platform: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Abstract

Digital advancements have revolutionized customer service, enabling customers to easily express dissatisfaction through online platforms. Unlike standard online communities, e-customer services like customer complaint management platforms foster deep interactions between providers and customers, linked to identity disclosure value. However, due to limited research on the consequences of identity disclosure in e-customer service contexts, the impact of such disclosure on both service providers and customers remains uncertain. In this study, we address this important issue by conducting a large-scale field experiment focused on a customer complaint management platform to investigate how disclosing service providers’ identities to customers influences service performance and customer ex-post satisfaction. For service providers, identity disclosure may increase perceived accountability and enhance service performance. However, identity disclosure may also evoke fear due to concerns about accountability and privacy, which can reduce providers’ work engagement and performance. Our large-scale randomized field experiment involving 1,280 service providers across 672 companies revealed positive effects of disclosure of service providers’ identities on service performance. Furthermore, customers’ satisfaction with services and firms increased when the name and job title of the service provider who was resolving their complaint was disclosed. We conducted three follow-up studies involving 880 participants to identify the underlying mechanisms. The follow-up studies demonstrate that disclosing service providers’ identities promotes their service performance by increasing accountability and decreasing role ambiguity; this is especially true for service providers with a low level of experience and those who work with a large group of colleagues. Additionally, disclosure increases customers’ satisfaction with the provided services because they perceive an increased level of trust while interacting with service providers. These findings have important practical implications for firms and platforms dedicated to customer service.

Keywords: identity disclosure, two-sidedness, platform design, service performance, complaint resolution

JEL Classification: M15, M30